Action 2: Preserving orphan works and out of print works

The action aims at creating a legal framework to facilitate the digitisation and dissemination of cultural works in Europe by proposing a Directive on orphan works by 2010, to conduct a dialogue with stakeholders in order to further implement measures on out-of-print works, complemented by databases on the right to information.

What is the problem? Legal difficulties block online access to copyrighted cultural works.

Millions of copyrighted cultural works lie unexploited in libraries and museums throughout Europe. Among them, orphan works are creations whose copyright owner cannot be traced; approval for digitalisation and online distribution becomes then near to impossible to obtain. The same difficulties apply to out-of-print material, which constitutes about 70% of publishers' collections.

Why is EU action needed? An EU-wide framework is required to bring orphan works and out-of-print material online and into Europeana

We need clear, Europe-wide rules and an agreed legal framework to enable further digitisation and dissemination of our cultural resources – literary, musical and artistic. These are crucial for the European digital libraries initiative and for the future Europeana – Europe's digital library – which aims to place Europe's vast cultural resources available to all Europeans.